The Case for Christ

1.Dr. Craig Blomberg argues that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were either written by eyewitnesses or by people directly connected to eyewitnesses. What specific evidence does he offer for this claim?

1.Blomberg walks Strobel through several standard tests historians apply to ancient documents: the bibliographical test, the internal evidence test, and the external evidence test. Briefly describe each one in your own words. Which did you find most compelling?

1.Dr. Bruce Metzger spent his career studying the thousands of ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. What was his overall verdict on whether the New Testament we read today accurately reflects the original writings?

1.Dr. Edwin Yamauchi walks Strobel through a list of ancient non-Christian writers who mention Jesus or the early Christian movement — including Tacitus, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, and Suetonius. What facts about Jesus do these sources confirm, independent of the New Testament?

1.Dr. John McRay has spent his career excavating the ancient world of the New Testament. What is his overall assessment of how archaeology relates to the reliability of the Gospel accounts?

1.Dr. Gregory Boyd addresses the claim made by some scholars that the Jesus of the Gospels is a mythologized figure — that the real, historical Jesus was simply a wandering teacher whose followers later turned him into a divine being. What is Boyd's response to this claim?

1.Dr. Ben Witherington argues that Jesus did, in fact, make extraordinary claims about his own identity during his ministry — that these claims are embedded even in the earliest Gospel material. What are the key claims or actions of Jesus that Witherington points to as evidence of Jesus' self-understanding as divine?

1.Dr. Gary Collins, a psychologist, is asked to evaluate Jesus' mental health based on the Gospel accounts. What criteria do mental health professionals use to assess delusion or psychological disorder, and how does Jesus fare when those criteria are applied?

1.Dr. Louis Lapides, a Jewish man who came to faith in Jesus, walks Strobel through the major Old Testament prophecies that he believes point to Jesus as the Messiah. Which prophecies did you find most striking, and why?

1.Dr. Alexander Metherell provides a detailed medical analysis of the crucifixion process — beginning with the Roman flogging Jesus received before even reaching the cross. What does Metherell say about the physical effects of the flogging alone, and why does this matter for evaluating whether Jesus could have survived the crucifixion?

1.Dr. Gary Habermas presents what he calls the "minimal facts" approach to the resurrection — a set of historical facts that are accepted by the vast majority of scholars, including skeptical ones. What are those minimal facts, and why does Habermas believe they are sufficient to make the case for the resurrection?

1.Dr. J.P. Moreland presents what he calls "circumstantial evidence" for the resurrection — evidence that doesn't directly prove the event but is best explained by it. What are the five key pieces of circumstantial evidence he offers? Which do you find most surprising or underappreciated?

1.Strobel describes the moment when, after nearly two years of investigation, he concluded that the evidence for Christianity was compelling enough that it would take more faith to be an atheist than to believe. What was the cumulative weight of evidence that brought him to that conclusion?

1.Looking back across all thirteen interviews and three major sections of the book, which piece of evidence or argument do you find most compelling? Which was most surprising to you?